She also mentioned that some of them were rented out long-term since Ace got a good amount of rent for them since they were all two-bedroom places. However, her rent was dirt cheap which was why she could afford the newer, expensive sports car she drove. Her cabin was the farthest from the farmhouse and sort of isolated.
And Slade did not like that at all. She shouldn’t be living out there by herself with all the shit that had been going down lately with the Warriors. She could be kidnapped, raped—hell, even killed—and no one would hear her scream for help.
“It’s safe out here.”
He frowned. “Too far away from anybody.”
“I have a phone.”
“Gotta weapon?”
“Like a gun?” she asked, surprised.
“Yeah, a fuckin’ gun to protect yourself with.”
Her eyes softened as she stared up at him. “Are you worried about me?”
Fuck. Was he?
“Should move to town,” he said.
She snorted softly. “I’m not moving to town. I’ve got it good here. Got my own place, family nearby, and loads of privacy.”
Even though that was all true, Slade didn’t like that she was out there by herself. Especially since most of the family around were only women. Ace always seemed to be at the pawn shop that he ran. From what he heard, it was to avoid that cranky old woman that Diamond mentioned.
“Anyway, I don’t need a gun.” She yanked on the dog tags that hung from his neck and pointed at the USMC logo tattooed onto his bicep. “Have a Marine in my bed, remember?”
Did she think he would land in her rack every night?
“Princess, I work ‘til early mornin’ at The Iron Horse. Sometimes it takes all I got just to drag myself up the stairs to my room. Ain’t gonna drive all the way out to the middle of bumfuck every night to warm your sheets when you’ll already be asleep an’ gotta get up early for work.”
“Not that early.”
“Early enough. An’ anyway, just said I don’t want an ol’ lady. Me bein’ in your bed every night’s just like havin’ one. Ain’t happenin’.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
His eyes narrowed on her. Every time she became agreeable, he wondered what was going through her head, how she was scheming. Diamond was not the easiest woman to deal with. Not even close. So her being so agreeable made him suspicious.
He dropped his head and murmured against her lips, “Will come out the nights I ain’t workin’ too late.”
When she opened her mouth to answer, he dipped his tongue inside and explored every inch of it. The groan he got from kissing her thoroughly was felt all the way down into his dick.
Even though he’d been exhausted from being up all night waiting for Z’s kid to be born, then up all morning fucking Diamond, he suddenly found his second wind.
Oorah.
Chapter Eight
Diamond couldn’t believe she was at one of the pig roasts when she normally couldn’t stand to be at them. Though, this one was different. Sort of. She was here only to celebrate the birth of Zeke. And she couldn’t wait to hold the new bundle of joy.
However, the new parents were inside church and surrounded by a crowd. She’d approach Sophie later when things died down.
She sat close to the bonfire since there was still a chill in the night air. A bottle of Iron City beer hung from her fingers as she tracked Lola walking across the courtyard toward the stage and Nash’s band. Dirty Deeds had been jamming out all night doing classic rock and roll.
The music was being piped into The Iron Horse so the customers over there could enjoy it live. The band usually drew a good crowd for the roadhouse even when the patrons couldn’t physically see the band, because they were just that good.
A big crowd meant a busy bar and loads of money in Hawk’s pocket, as well as, the club’s coffers. It also meant that extra hands were needed on deck over there to serve drinks, kick out underage patrons, and bounce drunk assholes.
Because of that, Di hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Slade. He was tending bar and bouncing belligerent drunks when necessary, while Hawk partied on the private side and kept a close eye on his future wife.
Yes, future wife.
It hadn’t been officially announced, but Kiki had showed up tonight with a freaking blinding boulder on her left ring finger. She didn’t have to say a word since it was immediately spotted from a mile away. She said she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it since the attention should be on Z’s baby.
So, besides the excitement of Zeke’s arrival, there was Hawk’s engagement to celebrate. If it wasn’t celebrated tonight, it would just be one more excuse for another pig roast. Because apparently no one in this club knew how to do anything else to celebrate but run a rod through a pig’s ass, drink and fuck. And even sometimes the fucking wasn’t done in private. Di never ate at the picnic tables under the pavilion for a reason. A pretty good one at that.
At least Kelsea had come up with the male stripper idea for Di’s birthday. Thank fuck.
While Dirty Deeds was worth listening to, the parties at church were as boring as shit. She’d heard Nash’s band play one million and one times and was pretty much at her limit with hearing covers done of AC/DC, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top, and the like. Not that she had anything against those bands, she didn’t. But after a while, it got old.
She bit back a yawn, then tipped her bottle to her lips and let the cold beer slide down her throat.
She eyeballed Lola talking closely to one of the newer prospects, Jester, and she wondered why the newest recruit wasn’t working The Iron Horse instead of Slade.
She might have to have a word with Hawk about that.
She also needed to talk to Diesel about digging into Slade’s background if he hadn’t done so already. If D gave her any shit, she would go to Axel and express her concerns. Bella’s man might help her out and do a little background check.
She’d hoped Slade would spill more about himself after a couple more nights in her bed, but he hadn’t. He hardly talked about himself at all, which made her even more curious.
Her sister came from behind her and settled into the empty chair to her right. Jewel’s hands were empty, and she shoved them into the pockets of her leather jacket.
“Why don’t you have a drink?” Di asked suspiciously.
Jewel stared into the blazing fire and shrugged. “Couldn’t hold the baby and a drink at the same time.”
“Don’t see a baby in your arms now.”
“Yeah.”
Di studied her sister’s profile in the glow of the fire. “You know, if I ever see any of us without at least a beer now, I’m going to suspect that sister is knocked up.”
Jewel shot her a wide-eyed look. “Believe me, it isn’t me. If it’s anyone, it’s Kiki.”
Di laughed. “True.”
Jayde suddenly came bounding around the chairs they were sitting in and bounced on her toes in front of Di and Jewel, making her long dark pony tail bounce along with her. “Holy shit! Did you get to hold Zeke yet?”
“No,” Di answered.
“Yes,” Jewel said at the same time.
“Oh my God, he’s so adorable. I want one!”
Di looked up at the youngest DAMC sister and rolled her eyes at her.
“I need to get a man and have lots of babies,” Jayde continued, not catching what Di did.
“Are you even supposed to be here? I thought Mitch told you to stay away from the club.”
Jayde waved a dismissing hand. “He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Of course not,” Di mumbled. “Because if he did, he’d probably drag your ass home.”
“He needs to see his grandson,” Jayde said with a frown.
Di didn’t know anyone who didn’t agree with that statement. “No shit. But until he gets that stick out of his ass, he won’t.”
“I’m going to bring Mom to the bakery so she can see Zeke.”
Di sighed. She wanted April, h
er aunt, to see Zeke, but she also didn’t want Jayde and April going behind Mitch’s back and tearing their family apart more than it already was. Baby or not.
Things had improved between Axel and Zak since Axel and Bella now lived together, but even their relationship was still tenuous and strained. Right now they were tolerating each other because of Bella and because of Z’s baby.
But it wouldn’t take much for that thin olive branch to snap.
“Have you seen Linc?” Jayde asked out of the blue.
Di frowned at her cousin. “Maybe you should stay away from Linc tonight since you’re in ‘I need to have lots of babies’ mode. You coming home knocked up by a biker will make your father lose his mind.”
Jayde leaned close to her and Jewel and whispered loudly, “I know how to have sex and not get pregnant.”
Di snorted, shot her sister a look then turned her attention back to Jayde. “How about you just leave Linc alone so the poor guy doesn’t end up with two bullets in his ass. One from your father and one from Axel.”
She scowled down at Di and then stomped away, mumbling, “Whatever.”
Di sighed and shook her head. She had a feeling Jayde was going to do something stupid and send shit sideways with the rest of the family.
Bella came up and squatted between the two chairs, holding a full red plastic cup. “Who pissed in her Cheerios?”
“Di did,” Jewel answered with a snicker.
Bella swung her head toward Di. “What did you do?”
“Warned her off Linc. I don’t think you want your man going to jail after plugging a round into Linc.”
Bella’s raised her brows. “For what?”
“Simply accepting something that’s being waved in front of his face.”
Bella turned back to look in the direction Jayde went. “Shit. Hopefully Linc has a better head on his shoulders than that.”
“It’s not the head on his shoulders he has to worry about.”
Bella laughed.
Di leaned over and peered into her cup. “What are you drinking?”
“Jack and Coke. You?”
Di lifted her I.C. Light bottle and Bella winced. “Not that light stuff.”
Di shrugged. “Hey, it’s low on calories and carbs.”
Jewel laughed. “You know, so she can stay lean and mean to kick some ass.”
“Speaking of that... Did you ever finish your certification?” Bella asked.
Diamond glanced around quickly to see if anyone was nearby and could overhear them. It wasn’t like what she was doing was bad, but she had a feeling it would be frowned upon by the guys and they might give her shit about it. And when they were on someone’s case they could all be annoying.
For that reason, she never talked about it in front of any of them. What they didn’t know they couldn’t complain about.
“Yeah, I finished it and started subbing at the gym.”
“Subbing? Substitute instructing?” Bella asked.
Di nodded.
“That’s so cool!” Bella exclaimed. “Are you going to start teaching full-time?”
Jewel leaned forward and said, “No, she isn’t. For some reason, she has this fear that the guys will find out and be assholes about it.”
Bella snorted. “When aren’t they assholes? But, seriously, that’s crazy. It’s just a workout.”
No, kickboxing was more than just a way to keep in shape. She started doing it when she wanted to protect herself. After Pierce cornered her all those years ago, she knew she had to take steps to keep herself from being vulnerable, becoming a victim, so she got her mother to enroll her in a self-defense course. Di never told her why she wanted to take it, and Di definitely didn’t want anyone to know what Pierce did because she still felt stupid for putting herself into that situation. So she ended up learning some basic moves and while at the gym, she watched a kickboxing class and then begged her mom to sign her up for that next.
Ruby was just happy her teenaged daughter found some sort of interest that kept Diamond out of trouble.
Jewel and Bella were pretty much the only ones in the DAMC who knew that she still kickboxed and was serious about it. Occasionally even competing. Her brother Jag knew she had done it when they were teenagers but most likely thought she eventually stopped, that it was just a phase Di went through.
But she didn’t stop. And to get a discount and help pay for classes and training, she ended up working the front desk at the gym. Eventually, the owner convinced her to get certified as an instructor because she was so passionate about it. A natural from what he said. And he needed someone to sub for him when he couldn’t teach for whatever reason.
Unfortunately, the job had paid shit and it was a half an hour away, so Di agreed to take over managing the office at Shadow Valley Body Works when Jewel went to work for Diesel. But she still drove up to the gym to train whenever she could.
All those years she worked at the gym, not only did the guys not know she was kickboxing, but the gym owner pushed her to get better and stronger. A few times, Di considered turning it into a career somehow. And Jewel had actually encouraged her to do just that.
“You should talk to Z about having the club finance your own gym,” Bella said to her. “That would be so cool. You could teach us all to kickbox and do self-defense. Learn to kick some ass!”
“I don’t know...”
“Why not? I know if I had known some self-defense or...” Bella drifted off.
Fuck. Di did not want Bella remembering the abuse her husband had put her through. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration.
So she quickly said, “Do you think they’d go for it? Sophie’s bakery and Kiki’s law firm are the only club businesses run by women. And you know why? Because Sophie already owned her business when she met Z and Kiki had enough of her own money to start her own firm and didn’t need any help funding it. Do you think the Executive Committee would agree to fork over a wad of dough to help me start a business?” She shook her head. “They’d probably laugh.”
Jewel made a noise. “They could only say no, but it’d be better than working in the shop’s office.”
“You worked in the shop’s office,” Di reminded her sister.
Jewel lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, but now I’m not.”
“Because D demanded you run his business instead. It’s just another way for him to keep an eye on you.”
“I think we could convince them,” Bella cut off Jewel’s response before things got heated. “Think about it, these guys like to work out. All they have is that shitty little room in the back of the body shop with half-assed equipment. If the club owns our own gym, they could have whatever equipment they’d want, and they’d have a lot more room to grunt and sweat. As it is, that room’s so small, it’s tight if more than one person is in there lifting. And forget any of us women trying to use it. Honestly, I’d think they’d go for it.”
“And,” Jewel added, “there’s no competition. There isn’t a decent gym in Shadow Valley. It’d give the club more money in the coffers and another place for prospects to work, which could help expand the club. It’s a win-win for these stubborn men. It’s all on how you present it.”
That was true. Though, Di had considered it many times, she had always pushed the thought away. It was one thing to take over managing an established business like Shadow Valley Body Works. Quite another to start one from the ground up. But even if Z and the others agreed with it, she’d need a lot of help and everyone was busy enough already.
“I’ll think about it.” Di eyeballed Jewel. “You might have to do some negotiating since asking for funds to start a new business needs to go to a vote and your beast of a man doesn’t think us women can or even need to protect ourselves since we have him. To him, we’re helpless—”
“Woman...” came a deep, scary voice behind them.
Oh, fuck.
All three of them looked at each other, then up over their shoulders at Diesel. His eyes were pinned to h
is ol’ lady. “Whataya yappin’ about?”
Di watched her sister’s face go blank.
“Nothing,” Jewel answered.
He stared down at her for a moment, then said, “Better not be lyin’ to me.”
“Why would I lie to you?” Jewel asked with a smirk.
He grunted.
Diamond leaned toward her sister and whispered, “Because you want one of his lessons.” Then she jumped out of her chair, grabbed Diesel’s thick-as-a-tree-limb arm and pulled. “Need to talk to you about something.”
“What?” he grunted with a frown.
Di’s eyes fell on Jewel and Bella, then she gave them a slight chin lift. She tugged on his arm again even though he didn’t budge. “Come with me.”
He studied her for a moment, then finally his big booted feet began to move in the direction she tugged.
“Got a question for you. Or maybe even a favor...”
D’s brows snapped together as he reluctantly followed her. “What about?”
“Well, it’s more like a who...”
Slade stepped out into the cool night, the smell of smoke of both the legal and illegal kind, as well as the bonfire variety, still lingering in the air. The band had just packed up their equipment and left, and the fire burned low in the pit. He’d missed the party, but the bar had been so busy he couldn’t find even a minute to get away. Even when Jester and Coop came in to relieve him.
Hawk had dropped in a few times to survey the bar patrons, make sure everything wasn’t going to shit and to remove money from the cash register every so often.
Last year, Slade had showed up at The Iron Horse about the same time Kiki entered Hawk’s life, so he only had to go by what the other brothers said about Hawk spending most of his waking hours at the bar until his woman came along. Now, the man tried to stay away as much as possible.
He trusted Slade and Linc to handle the day-to-day management, and the prospects, Jester and Coop, to help. Plus, he had some outsiders work the bar part-time and in the kitchen as line cooks, dishwashers and just general get-shit-done employees.
Slade could easily see why Kiki was more important to him than the bar was. But it was the revenue from the bar that helped buy that enormous diamond that the club’s attorney showed up wearing tonight.
Down & Dirty_Slade Page 9